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Strengths-based Development Camp for Gan Eng Seng School, 2016

To kickstart the final year of their secondary school life, 300 students from Gan Eng Seng School went through 2 full days of “Strengths-Transformation” with Kingmaker Leadership Institute.

It was to be the best possible preparation for a grueling & defining year ahead – students will face National exams in the form of the GCE “O” or “N” level. It was crucial that students were to be prepared, inspired & motivated to conquer the exams to the best of their ability. The class dynamics was also a key factor to predict a successful outcome.

Kingmaker customised a series of programmes for the graduating cohort:

Knowing our strengths, knowing our children’s strengths and talents could help parents. It could improve understanding and communication within the family. It could help parents work better as a team to bring up their children. By using StrengthsFinder, will help parents to appreciate their children’s conflicting themes to their advantage. Join us on this strengths-based parenting journey and listen to our recorded podcast!

In 2015, five 15-year old students experienced StrengthsTransform™ Personal Mastery programme for 4 sessions. They completed their StrengthsFinder profile, explored how their talent themes showed up in what they do on the Internet and explored ways to diversify for cyber-wellness. During the 1st ASEAN Strengths Education Summit (2016), the candidates were profiled for how the programme has transformed their lives.

DEFICIT MODEL OF PSYCHOLOGY & INTERVENTION

The five youths would have been classified as Problematic or Pathological Internet Users using existing instruments based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V). They were spending 6 to 10 hours on the Internet every day and also experiencing the following:

Underachieving in school (albeit in comparison with high expectations in Singapore)

Unable to control their use of computer games & Internet activities

Sometimes skipping meals & baths to use the Internet

Having tension with parents over their behavior

This is the deficit model of psychology in action. Develop a set of criteria for “normal functioning”. Check if people fall short, and decide whether they had a problem.

Yet when they were using StrengthsFinder profile by Gallup, it was clear that they possess unique talents and were, in fact, operating in a state of flow on the Internet.

FLOW: a mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity

Aaron (16 years old), would spend 7.8hrs (weekday) & 9.5hrs (weekend) on the Internet. He searches social media & websites to “stalk” people. He operates his own YouTube channel and is adept at a wide range of hacking techniques.

ADDICTION OR FLOW?

It would be a probable case of problematic Internet use one investigates using positive psychology & StrengthsFinder 2.0 profile. Aaron had an amazing curiosity to read on the Internet & remember things (StrengthsFinder profile LEARNER Theme). He carefully curated all his source of knowledge and showed us an amazing catalog (StrengthsFinder profileINPUT Theme) of “hacking tutorials”. His YouTube channel was an avenue to share much of his interesting insights (StrengthsFinder 2.0 INTELLECTION Theme).

He also learned French, German and Spanish from the Internet and was also able to memorize 300 decimal places of pi!

All of his activities were PEAK EXPERIENCES where his signature talent themes were used, resulting in a state of flow! He was not wasting his time away uncontrollably while on the Internet. rather he was engaging in the activity that will be his most direct route to success & excellence.

STRENGTHS-BASED APPROACH TO INTERVENTION & TRANSFORMATION

It was only with a strengths-based approach using tools such as StrengthsFinder profile that Aaron was “diagnosed” to be actually operating at his best. This approach to intervention helped a young man to gain awareness of his amazing ability to learn & his talents. It affirmed his desire & dream to pursue Chemical Engineering in the future.

Many out there today may be classified unfavorably using a set of criteria for “normal functioning”. Yet it is important to also examine a person noting his individual talents (strengths-based approach). Surely Aaron was a “normally exceptional” youth, just like all of us!

We at StrengthsTransform™ wish Aaron a hope-filled, talent-powered future! And yes, please keep tabs on what we do on the Internet and tell others about your journey in understanding Strengths!

For more information about using StrengthsFinder profile & the StrengthsTransform™ programme to achieve personal mastery, please check our website.

Yvonne finds that she is best at using “harmony” to mediate between sibling disputes. She also uses “Input” & “maximizer” to source for the best quality food, household items & family experiences, in order to engage the family.

In each & every one of the examples cited, each parent was able to recognize & intentionally bring their best to the family unit. The ease with which they accomplished each of the “tasks” made it a delight for both parents & children.

Spouses working together as a team to bring up children

No individual is an all-rounder. he will have his top talent themes but also areas that are very deficient. Peter is strong in strategic thinking themes and uses his prevalent “Achiever” talent to complete household chores. This clears up the way for Yvonne to invest time to source for useful means to add variety to family experiences.

When it comes to disciplining children, Peter is mindful that his “Command” & “Strategic” can show up very strongly and in a directive manner. While this provides quick clarity, he depends on Yvonne’s “Harmony” to moderate his intensity.

Parents & children step into each others’ shoes using StrengthsFinder

William was surprised to find out that Faith her teenage daughter had both “Command” & “Self-Assurance” among her top 5 talents. Through the workshop & interaction, he could help Faith link & identify past incidences to these themes. The StrengthsTransform™ workshop was pivotal because it provided the space for Strengths Coach Tan Hee Guan to spend the time to explain how this is indeed a powerful combination and paint a picture of how this will give her an edge what she undertakes in her school life.

In his own words: “Usually these 2 talents carry negative connotations especially for a girl in the Asian culture. But the workshop helped all of us to suspend judgment, understand and appreciate Faith’s uniqueness.”

Peter & Yvonne were also very upset with Elizabeth’s seemingly last-minute and reactionary approach to her academics. However, through understanding her “Adaptability” talent, they were gradually able to embrace her unique ability to react to changes and encouraged her to adopt novel approaches to sustain focus while revising.

Parents help the child chart personal development with an understanding of his or her talents

Understanding the child’s talents allows parents to individualise their approach, to bring out the best in the child. This is a radically different compared to the deficit model widely used by schools & parents – focusing on remedial efforts to eliminate children’s weaknesses. While that approach prevents failures, it falls short in drawing out excellence in their children and actually directs them towards lower productivity & a poorer quality of life.

Peter recognizes that Elizabeth’s “Intellection” helped in her academics, but that she may lose out to some of her similarly gifted peers because of her preference to “go with the flow” (“Adaptability”). Yet he does not see it as a handicap but instead recognizes the edge that Elizabeth may possess in a dynamic working environment in the future. Instead of suppressing her “adaptability” for even better grades, he focuses on helping her to manage her preference for variation and honing in to shine in dynamic situations.

These are the 4 significant benefits & breakthroughs available & waiting through strengths-based parenting. To find out more about this subject, you may want to pick up Gallup’s new book Strengths-Based Parenting.

Strengths discovery is an exciting journey for most people who take the Clifton StrengthsFinder – Genuine surprise with the accuracy of the report; awed by the detail to which it describes one’s inner thoughts and feelings, and the almost unerring prediction of one’s behavior.

For the few with the opportunity to have a Strengths Coach unpack the report, the wonder is usually multiplied as one senses the impact this realization can have on their lives. Surely this must be THE best profiling tool ever.

Yet for probably 95% of people who take the instrument, the enthusiasm is likely to gradually wane by the day. It is not surprising to find that most people would not even recall their signature themes (top 5 talent themes) just one week later.

Yet 5% (probably) will exhibit a totally contrasting response. These begin a lifelong journey of embracing strengths, infusing the ideas and strengths language into every area of life. A few continue to become strengths coaches and pursue it almost as a life-calling. As evidenced by the many Gallup Called-to-Coach videos, these people speak about strengths almost as a core philosophy of life.

Just what is the difference? What differentiates the evangelists from the rest?

At StrengthsTransform™, we believe that Strengths is too good an idea that it should be allowed to fade off. We recognize its exponential impact once a person crosses some simple barriers and moves into space where one begins to:

Coach himself/herself

Influence others & the community

Simply put, the basic ideas and beliefs behind strengths are so compelling that one almost has to re-orientate their life to adjust for them. Strengths Transformation!

Each may seem obvious, and even superfluous to merit any mention, let alone given enough time and space to expound.

We differ.

These are basic tenets that has seen us bring StrengthsTransform™ to more than 4100 clients in 2 years.

In the next few posts, I’ll be taking time to carefully unpack the journey that I have personally taken. It will also document the journey that 2 companies took towards becoming strengths-based organisations.